Edward Snowden has slammed the U.S. Department of Justice’s recent actions against app developers, advocating for financial privacy in a recent social media post.
What Happened: On Tuesday, Snowden took to X, formerly Twitter, to express his disapproval of the Department of Justice’s recent actions. He tweeted, “The Department of ‘Justice’ has once again criminalized the developers of an app that restores financial privacy. The way to fix this it to make money private by default. Privacy must never be ‘exceptional,’ or they will make it criminal.”
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Why It Matters: Snowden’s tweet reflects his ongoing support for financial privacy, particularly in the context of cryptocurrency. He has previously endorsed a legal defense fund for Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixing service embroiled in legal issues. Snowden has been vocal in his belief that “Privacy is not a crime.”
This recent post from Snowden also aligns with the views of former U.S. Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has argued that penalizing an entire protocol or way of doing business is illegal and unconstitutional. Ramaswamy has specifically criticized the Treasury Department’s decision to sanction Tornado Cash.
These events highlight the ongoing debate around financial privacy, particularly in the realm of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), and the legal challenges faced by companies operating in this space.
Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
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